STATESIDE retailer Brooks Brothers has acquired a 25 per cent stake in one of Scotland's oldest cashmere manufacturers.
Ballantyne, which has produced cashmere from its Peebles mill for 230 years, has also sold off a 55 per cent stake to Italian textiles entrepreneur Massimiliano Zegna Baruffa.
The new shareholders plan to expand the factory's production capability
, while Brooks Brothers, one of the oldest retailers in the US, will use the factory as its cashmere knitwear supplier for all its retail network.
Ballantyne is to retain a 20 per cent holding in the mill.
Alfredo Canessa, chairman of Ballantyne, said: "We share with Mr Zegna and Brooks Brothers the same values of top quality and in-depth product research and I am convinced that the balance of competencies contributed by the three partners will add further value to Ballantyne knitwear collections, preserving our unique Scottish heritage."
The company will operate under the name of JJ & HB 1788 Cashmere Mills, after the two original founding brothers John John and Henry Ballantyne and the year of the factory's first production.
Zegna Baruffa added: "I am convinced that this partnership represents a great opportunity."
"I strongly believe in the long-term value of traditional Scottish knitwear and I am honoured to be partner with two strong international brands."
The plant is the oldest continually operating textile mill in Scotland.
The full article contains 234 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
